Scott Gargan

Updated 12:35 pm, Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Franklin Street Works in Stamford presents the new documentary film, "Fair Tomatoes: A Story About Justice, Dignity, and Sustainability" on Thursday, March 13 at 7 p.m., followed by a discussion with its directors, Greenwich residents Ernie Zahn and Ron Williams.
Photo: Contributed Photo

When Ernie Zahn and Ron Williams traveled to Immokalee, Fla., otherwise known as the tomato capital of America, in spring 2012, they couldn't believe they were still in the United States.

They had heard reports of abysmal working conditions, forced labor and obscenely low wages. But they were all coming from other, much poorer parts of the world -- not their home country.

"We knew, on an international level, of things going awry in factories, most recently at Foxconn, which has accounts with American companies," Zahn said in an interview last week. "You think this stuff is happening in other countries, and that it isn't happening at all domestically."

But as the crisis in Immokalee brutally demonstrated, that couldn't have been further from the truth: Abuse, stagnant wages, mistreatment and unjust labor conditions were (and to a lesser extent, still are) a part of life for tomato pickers in the impoverished Southern Florida community.

The situation became so desperate that in 1993, farmworkers rallied to form the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, an organization dedicated to fighting for better wages and working conditions in Florida's tomato fields.

Greenwich filmmakers Zahn and Williams tell the story of the CIW -- and their successes -- in their new documentary, "Fair Tomatoes: A Story About Justice, Dignity, and Sustainability," to be screened at Franklin Street Works in Stamford on Thursday, March 13. The film will be followed by a Q-and-A with the directors.

Produced by All Kicker, Zahn and Williams' Greenwich-based arts and activism blog, "Fair Tomatoes" follows the CIW as they raise awareness about corporate responsibility, community organizing and sustainable food, while also ending modern-day slavery and other labor abuses.

Though it varies from farm to farm, workers on average have to carry a 32-pound bucket of tomatoes from one end of field to the other 150 times during a 10-hour work day to make the equivalent of minimum wage.

However, the CIW has fought for and won many concessions from the food industry. The film covers how, in 2011, workers scored a huge victory when they reached an agreement with local tomato growers and several big-name buyers, including McDonald's and Burger King, on receiving a penny more for every pound of fruit they harvested. They call it the "Campaign for Fair Food."

"It's absolutely inspiring," Zahn said. "It's this grassroots campaign that has had so much success. They've gotten backing from Obama White House, received the Roosevelt Institute's Four Freedoms Award and have gotten all these incredible acknowledgments."

Zahn was particularly moved by a speech from Gerardo Reyes-Chavez, one of the leaders of the CIW, who "talks about the move toward greater corporate support and seeing real change in the field," he said.

Though the film explores the efforts of the CIW, it also addresses what restaurants, chefs and consumers can do to support sustainable food practices. The struggle of the CIW continues, Zahn said, and consumers are an integral part of that fight.

"Tomatoes are one of the most pervasive products that are being grown domestically," he said. "The workers have already done so much, and it's up to us to do what we can to help them in that struggle."